“Giving a Talk” Talk

Paul Sutton, PhD, MDAssociate Professor

General Internal MedicineUniversity of Washington

Overview

• Public speaking tips

• Tips for effective PowerPoint presentations

• Presentation of data

• The delivery

Public Speaking Tips

• Tell ‘em

• Tell them what you are going to tell them

• Tell them

• Tell them what you have told them

Overview

• Public speaking tips

• Tips for effective PowerPoint presentations

• Presentation of data

• The delivery

Public Speaking Tips• Know your subject

• Know your audience– What’s in it for me?

• Structure– Particularly crucial for shorter talks

• Your style– Find your own voice– But seek to entertain as well as educate

Your Style

• “Good teaching is one fourth preparation and three fourths theater.” Gail Godwin

• Use eye contact, voice modulation, and animation (yours, not PowerPoint’s)

• Take chances (but be tasteful)

Public Speaking Tips

• Limited recall– “The magical number seven, plus or

minus two”. Miller GA. Psychol Rev 1956. 63:81-97.

• Emphasize key points– Don’t attempt the Vulcan mind meld– “If you only remember one thing…”

Effective Habits

• Outline the talk before opening any presentation software

• Scientific Presentation– Background– Objective– Methods– Data– Discussion

Effective Habits: outlines

Topic-based Lecture• Intro• Epidemiology• Clinical Features• Diagnostics• Treatment• Areas of study• Review

Case-based Lecture• Intro• Case 1• Teaching point• Case 2• Teaching point• Lather, rinse, &

repeat• Review

Effective Habits• Prepare in advance!

– “It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” Mark Twain

• Practice– Particularly the introduction

• Peer review– Is the story coherent?– Is the presentation of data clear?– Eliminate ypographical errors

PowerPoint Tips

• Use PowerPoint– 95% market share– Presentation software options:

• PC/Mac/UNIX: OpenOffice by Sun• Mac: Keynote

– Can be difficult to share– Potential for formatting surprises

• Most conferences require .ppt (or .pptx)

Savvy Slides(K.I.S.S.)

• Dark background, light text• Consider using bold for all fonts• Shadowed text is more readable• Use font size 24 or greater

• Use easy to read fonts– Arial– Times New Roman– Comic Sans MS– English 111 Vivace BT

Savvy Slides (44 point)

• Arial 36• Arial 28• Arial 20

• Comic Sans MS 36• Comic Sans MS 28• Comic Sans MS 20

• Times New Roman 36• Times New Roman 28• Times New Roman 20

Backgrounds

• Readable, classic

• But, fatiguing over time

Backgrounds

• Annoying, pointless background• Poor contrast

• High contrast is minimally better

• Wow, what a great lecture

Slide Content

• About one minute per slide– This ratio increases as the length of the

talk increases

• 5-8 lines of text per slide

• Simplify information (on the slide!)– More Hemingway than Bulwer-Lytton– More haiku than Dante

Slide Content

• For goodness sakes, don’t read your slides!

• Avoid STDs– Speaker/text dissonance

• Use animations sparingly

“Death by PowerPoint”

http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/sld006.htm, accessed 4/14/09

http://canadiancpd.medscape.com/content/2002/00/43/71/437182/437182_fig.htmlAccessed 7/2/2009

PowerPoint Tips

• Don’t forget to stretch/change gears

• Attention span may be 10-15 minutes

• Various techniques to re-engage the audience

Overview

• Lecture tips and effective habits

• Tips for effective PowerPoint presentations

• Presentation of data

• The delivery

So…Now I’m thinking about taking my

cousin downtown when she visits next

month…

Presentation of Data

• PowerPoint conveys data at relatively low bandwidth

Lindholm LH, et al. Lancet 2008. 366:1545-53

AFFIRM. NEJM 2002. 347:1825

Tables, Charts, and Graphs

• Avoid tables & figures from journals – they do not project well

• Tables & figures should be clearly labeled, and make sense at a glance

• Orient the audience & walk them through the data

Tables, Charts & Graphs

• You’ve failed if you have to begin with an apology

• Limit data to what is necessary to convey your point– But don’t deceive

• Highlight key points

Atenolol vs. OtherAnti-hypertensives: Stroke

Lindholm LH, et al. Lancet 2008. 366:1545-53

ELSA

ASCOT-BPLA

INVEST

LIFE

MRC Old

UKPDS

TOTAL EVENTS

1.29 (1.12-1.49)

1.58 (0.69-3.64)

1.14 (0.93-1.39)

1.34 (1.13-1.58)

1.22 (-.83-1.79)

0.90 (0.48-1.69)

1.26 (1.15-1.38)

1.00.5 0.7 1.5 2.0

Make another point with text box or highlighting

Take Care with Colors

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.” Einstein

The Delivery

• Redundancy– Computer, webmail, USB flash drive, CD– Include all files necessary for any animation

(e.g. video)

• Get there early, check out the room, controls, water

• Ask a friend/colleague for feedback– Learn something from every talk

Overview (“Tell ‘em”)

• Lecture tips and effective habits

• Tips for effective PowerPoint presentations

• Presentation of data

• The delivery

Take Home Points

• Be knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and animated

• Focus on a few take home points

• Legible slides (and don’t read them!)

• Pay particular attention to the presentation of data

“Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.” Dorothy Sarnoff

Suggested Reading• Federman D. How do you give a great lecture? Parts I and II. SGIM

Forum, June and July 2009. Accessed at http://www.sgim.org/index.cfm?pageId=809– Very practical, expert opinion

• Tufte ER. The cognitive style of PowerPoint: pitching out corrupts within. 2nd edition. Graphics Press (Cheshire, CT). 2006.– An essay on the limitations and cognitive shackles of PowerPoint– Available at the bookstore for $7

• Keller J. Killing me microsoftly with PowerPoint. Chicago Tribune, January 5, 2003. Accessed at http://www.gbuwizards.com/files/chicago-tribune-julia-keller-05-january-2003.htm– Martin Luther King and Robert Frost à la PowerPoint

• Collins J. Giving a PowerPoint presentation: the art of communicating effectively. Radiographics 2004. 24:1185-92.